Travel & Tourism: Visitor Attraction Management and UK Economy

This report delves into visitor attraction management within the travel and tourism sector, focusing on the UK's economy. It discusses the overlap of visitor attractions, categorizing them as natural, heritage, and purpose-built, and analyzes their importance in contributing to the UK's GDP. The report evaluates different visitor types, including incentive, health, business, education, adventure, leisure, religious, sport, and special interest tourists, examining their motivations and the impacts of tourism on visitor attractions, both positive and negative, such as environmental and socio-cultural effects. It also explores strategies for sustainable growth in the tourism industry, highlighting the roles of VisitBritain and other organizations, and addresses limitations faced in engaging customers, concluding with recommendations for enhancing the UK's tourism sector.

TRAVEL AND TOURISM VISITOR ATTRACTION MANAGEMENT
1

Table of Content
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................4
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................8
Task 3.............................................................................................................................................12
Task 4.............................................................................................................................................15
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................18
Reference List................................................................................................................................19
2

Introduction
Tourism is one of the most beneficial businesses that can enhance an economy of a nation in an
effective manner. Tourists are of various types and from different lands, which sometimes
increases their demands from the visiting country to provide them with what they need. UK is a
country of high culture and heritage. This allows visitors from various lands to come and explore
the culture of UK. In 2013, the economy was boosted with £127 billion and this created UK to be
one of the famous places to the tourist lists (Gov.UK, 2018). Tourism is a pillar to the economy
of UK and tourists help the country to earn larger amount of foreign exchanges. This helps in
creating a great change in the GDP of the economy. In this assignment, various types of visitors
and their impacts on the UK economy are given in order to understand in what manner tourism
industry is helping the UK economy to grow more. Within this assignment, various strategies
that are used by the tourism industries to make sustainable growth and the various limitations
that the tourism industry is facing are engaging their customers.
3

Task 1
1.1Discuss the overlap of visitor attractions in relation to particular types of attractions
Individuals visit tourist attractions sites to
add some adventure and amusement to their
lives. Sometimes, the cultural value and/ or
historical significance of the sites also lure
them. Different tourists have different
purposes of visit and the choice of the place
to visit depends on such purpose. For
instance, anyone who takes a keen interest in
gathering knowledge about the culture and
history of a place would want to visit British
Museum and the National Maritime
Museum as they hold historical significance.
According to the visitor attraction spots
types, they can be classified as follows:
Natural attractions- The places, which have
been created by nature are called Natural
attractions. Their awe-inspiring scenic
beauty attracts the tourists. There is a great
diversity of natural wonders on Earth. Their
breath taking beauty lures visitors from all
directions towards them. Many of these
places exhibiting exceptional natural beauty
have been given the status for protecting the
environment (Tomlinson, 2018). The
government of such countries provides the
visitors with a large number of facilities.
Such special status has been extended to
many natural attractions existing in the
United Kingdom. These include Brimham
Rocks, Glyder Fawr, Cheddar Gorge,
Malham Cove, Trotternish Peninsula,
Malham Cove and many others.
Figure 1: Jurassic Coast
(Source: Britain’s natural wonders, 2016)
Heritage attractions- As the name suggests,
heritage attractions are those attractions,
which have historical significance and high
cultural value. These include the old
monuments, which have existed on the face
of the Earth for a long number of years and
have witnessed the different eras passing.
People exhibiting an inquisitive attitude, and
wanting to know more about the earlier
ages, visit these historical sites (Achp.gov,
2018). These generally include students
4

conducting a research on the historical
places, and lovers of history. Since Britain
was the most important hub in the world, the
British history never fails to attract people.
The country has a number of such sites,
displaying exceptional beauty, which has
been declared as World Heritage Sites by
UNESCO. The Jurassic Coast and the City
of Baths are a few names among many other
such heritage sites One of the most iconic
monuments of the country is Stonehenge,
which was built during the Stone Age.
Figure 2: Stonehenge
(Source: VisitBritain, 2017)
Purpose-built attractions- These are the
manmade sites that have been constructed
for the very purpose of bringing in more
tourists. These attraction sites comprises of
theme parks, entertainment and event
venues, places such as cathedrals, beautiful
gardens, castles and museums. In reality,
these places were designed for public utility
but have become visitor attractions. On the
contrary, places such as The Queen’s House,
Buckingham Palace, National Maritime
Museum, British Museum, and London
Tower are the various examples of purpose-
built attractions. The British Museum,
situated in the Bloomsbury area of London,
United Kingdom, is an institution open to
public dealing with human history, culture
and art showcased by 8 million artefacts
works (Britishmuseum.org, 2018). Built in
the Greek Revival architectural style, the
museum attracts around 6000000 visitors
every year, as shown by the surveys
conducted by Visit Britain (British Museum,
2018, A). The Queen’s House in Greenwich,
London, designed by Inigo Jones in 1616,
attracts a huge number of tourists on a
yearly scale (rmg.co.uk, 2018). The Tulip
Stairs and lantern; the first centrally
unsupported helical stairs mark the
uniqueness of the place. National Maritime
museum was constructed around 81 years
ago in Greenwich, London and displays a
collection of 2 million+ objects (Gov.uk,
2018). The place has been renovated to
include the three new astronomy galleries,
four time galleries, a learning centre, the
120-seat Peter Harrison Planetarium
and facilities for collections conservation
5

and research. They add to the long list of
facilities that lure visitors. The London Eye,
the world’s tallest Ferris wheel is another
attraction.
Events- Ample number of tourists is
attracted to a place where an event is being
hosted, which adds to the tourism revenue of
the country. Small musical concerts and the
Blackpool Iluminations as well as the major
events like the Paralympics or Olympics
draw visitors to the UK. Events are crucial
to bring more tourists to the UK as all parts
of it do not have an equal distribution
natural, purpose-built or heritage attractions
. So, hosting events becomes particularly important in such scenarios.
Figure 3: Events
(Source: Study-uk.britishcouncil.org, 2018)
1.2 Analyse the importance of different visitor attractions
Visitor attractions assist in the process of
economic growth and development by
contributing to the GDP of the country. The
increased tourist market adds to the tourism
6

revenue of the country. In addition, many
employment opportunities are generated
because of the tourism industry. The
increase in the employment level helps
reduce poverty and create a more equitable
distribution of income. London attracts
around 15 million tourists from around the
world, every year. The United Kingdom has
natural, purpose-built and heritage
attractions, and also has a host of renowned
events, due to which a large number of
tourists visit the place. The estimates of
Visit Britain suggests around 6,262,839
people visited the National Gallery in 2016
(VisitBritain, 2018). Statistics suggests that
out of the attraction sites that are paid for,
2,741,126 visitors were seen in the Tower of
London and another 1,898,059 visited the
Chester Zoo (visitbritain.org, 2018).
Since tourists in large numbers visit these
places, both the central and the local
governments generate a huge amount of
revenue. Places, which do not have an entry
fee, also generate revenue by selling
merchandise and souvenirs. Increase in
income leads to the creation of a multiplier
effect, ultimately culminating in better
economic conditions.
Apart from all this, tourism also lends a
helping hand in revitalizing an area and
enhancing the local culture and heritage,
since the residents along with the
government take many initiatives to create,
maintain, and protect the attraction sites.
The efforts made by them for expanding
tourism leads to overall development of the
nation. Seeing the prosperity of the place,
many new business organizations are
attracted to set up their business in such
zones. Enterprises providing
accommodation services, passenger
transport services, food and beverage
services, travel agencies and sports, vehicle
hire, recreational and conference services,
bloom in such regions. Visit Britain states
that the UK greeted 2.6 million overseas
visits in December 2017. In December 2017
visitor spending was £1.6 billion
(VisitBritain, 2018).
7

Task 2
Introduction
In this part of the assignment, various types of visitors and their motives to visit a place got
discusses, which will allows the tourism business to understand the needs of the customers from
various segmentations.
2.1 Evaluate the needs and motivations of different visitor types
Tourists are those individuals that are with the motive to explore new lands and new minds.
These individuals come from various lands and visit a destination to refresh their daily
schedules. Visitors can visit a destination based on various reasons and the classifications are
provided below:
Incentive tourists: These are the visitors that receive an incentive in terms of holiday packages
from their respective workplace for their better performance. These tourist visits only to the
chosen destination that were selected by their trip provider.
Health or medical tourist: These visitors visit a destination with a mind set to avail medical
service from the visited location. These visitors make visit to the chosen location to get better
quality medical treatment.
Business tourist: These visitors are either the organization of a business that plans to campaign
regarding their products or the services to the chosen destination. These visitors can even be the
businessmen that plan to visit a destination for making business deals.
Education tourists: These tourist types visit a destination and reside there for a period of time in
order to complete their education course. This is one of the largest form of tourism type that the
UK is generating in the present scenario.
Adventure tourist: These are the tourists that visit a place to experience something new and
adventurous in order to meet their passion needs.
Leisure tourist: These tourist types are of the individuals that visit a destination to make a little
rest from their daily life and in order to enjoy their times with family and friends. This tourist
8

motivation is one of the most explored forms of the travel industry. Some of the leisure spots are
Coca-Cola London Eye and The British Museum
Religious tourist: These tourists visit a destination for the motive to serve their spiritual needs.
The cultural and religious believes places are their only motive to visit. One of the famous
religious spot in UK is Westminster Abbey.
Sport and recreation tourist: These tourists are a part of leisure tourist category. In this
category, the visitors visit a place with the motive to fulfil their recreational needs and to enjoy
some sports events. Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter is one of
the recreation spot in London.
Backpacking or youth tourist: These tourists are the only individual that explores new places
with the least amount of luggage and money. They prefer to visit a location and to live the new
culture.
Special Interest Tourist (STI): These visitors visit a destination to attend a special event or to
fulfil their passions in order to satisfy inner self.
2.2 Evaluate impacts of tourism on visitor attractions in the United Kingdom
When tourists visit a destination, it creates both positive and negative impacts on the economy
because of their presence. Some of the impacts that were observed in UK are discussed below:
Environmental impacts – Tourism being one of the essential parts of the economy helps an
economy to grow well but on the other hand, it affects the environment of an area adversely. The
organizations that are related to the tourism industries are increasing their infrastructures rapidly,
which is leading to increased architectures in a small location leading to high traffic and air
pollution. Tourism though increases the visitors to create local engagement but on the other
hand, it even increases the chance of terrorist activities. Increase in number of visitors increases
the consumption of water and fuel in the economy and exploitation of natural resources,
sometimes this can affect the economy of the country. Rapid urbanization in many areas of the
economy can lead to deforestation and landslide in many areas. This can be another risk that the
economy of the location can face.
9

Social and Cultural impacts – Tourism means interference of many culture and social
background in one location. Too much of it can affect the local culture negatively. The location
that is having a culture can be disrupted because of interference of tourists from other cultures.
The destination might lose its authenticity and might become more artificial. This can lose many
customers in the next future (Smith, 2015). On the other hand, the culture interference helps the
other cultures to get commercialize in the global economy. This can help an underdeveloped
culture to grow. Sudden visiting of many areas in various locations can affect the core culture of
the area which can even lead to communal rivalry.
Economic impacts – Tourism is a pillar to the economy. The essential benefit that an economy
gains because of tourism is the foreign exchanges, which aids an economy to make trade and
connection with the other countries (Mason, 2015). Tourists from other economy can even be a
threat to the economy because the visitors can create a fraud to the economy by creating any
even for a particular period. In some areas of a country the tourism concept of business can
enhance the lifestyle of the residing people but on the other hand it can even disrupt the other
profession type, which can affect the economy to some extent.
2.3 Analyze the effect of different theories of tourist motivation on the management of
visitor attractions
There are various theories that can help the tourism sector to make proper management of their
activities in order to sustain their business and to grow more. The chosen theory for this
assignment is responsible tourism and smart consumer. The theories are discussed below:
Responsible tourism: In this tourism approach the tourism business makes their business
functioning in such a manner that it helps the economy to grow and to enhance the working
culture of the economy (Mihalic, 2016). The responsible tourism even involves benefit to the
host communities and also enhances the promotion of their cultural heritages. This type of
tourism is only concerned with the impacts on the people because of tourism in their locality not
only this, but this theory also emphasis on the upliftment of the environment of that destination,
which allows the destination to restore its beauty.
Smart consumer: Smart consumers are the new trend in the tourism industry, which defines the
organizations that are operating their business with the help of technological platforms. This
10

allows the visitors to visit their chosen destination more effectively. The transactions are all done
technologically, which enables the tourists to visit the place hassle free. The organizations that
are in this tourism industries are now days preferring this smart consumer theory in order to get
more customers from various parts of the world.
Conclusion
In this part of the assignment, different theories and approaches on tourism got discussed which
allows managing the tourists more effectively. This part of the assignment even documents the
impacts that the tourism businesses created on the economy of UK
11

Task 3
3.1 Discuss the processes and the potential issues involved in the development of visitor
attractions.
Introduction
United Kingdom is one of the most popular tourist destinations. The government of the country
takes initiative of developing theme parks and cultural sites in order to enhance the tourism
business of the country. This report will explore the development process of establishing a new
theme park known as “The London Resort” in Swanscombe Peninsula, Kent that has been
undertaken by London Resort Company Holdings Limited. The different processes involved in
the development and issues associated with the construction of this park have been discussed in
this report.
Process of development of visitor attraction sites
Project management feasibility study: The management of London Resort Company Holdings
Limited is required to explore in order to gain understanding regarding the project that can be
developed so that it is beneficial in order to generate more revenue. As it is evident that there are
a number of theme parks available in London the management of the company is required to
conduct Project management feasibility study that will help them in ensuring that an existing
theme is not repeated (Mukherjee and Roy, 2017). `
Local community involvement: After the management has analyzed and decided the theme of
the resort, they should try to involve the local community in their construction and project
designing procedure. Involving local community will help in reducing the employment cost and
they would be able to receive better services as local community will possess more enhanced
idea about the locality.
Recruitment: After the theme park have been constructed and functions on a regular basis it is
important that the management should keep renovating and developing their services so that the
aesthetics of the park can be maintained (Treweek et al., 2018). This will help in enhancing the
12